Tag: Flour

Nutella Swirled Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

It’s time for my monthly Walkers Shortbread Blogger Ambassador program post, and I think they tailored this one just for me! This month’s theme is “Fruit Desserts for Fall,” where we were asked to use in-season fall autumn fruits including apples, pears, cranberries, figs, pomegranates, or pumpkins. Clearly, there was no question which one I was choosing.

Nutella-Swirled Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Walkers Shortbread also has an exclusive promotion for I Can Cook That readers. Now through Monday, September 23, you can receive 25% off your total purchase, excluding sales items when you use the promo code ICCTFRUIT. So you can experiment with your very own fall treats! (Another favorite of mine that uses Walkers Shortbread is this Gingerbread Chocolate Pumpkin Trifle)

Nutella-Swirled Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Because it is September and it hasn’t completely cooled off just yet, I thought I’d go for a chilled dessert. I have wanted to make Pumpkin Cheesecake for a while now and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. But to make it a little more special, I decided to swirl in some Nutella.

The crust is a mixture of Walkers Shortbread Highlanders and Stem Ginger Shortbread Cookies to give it a bit more flavor. I adapted this recipe from a recipe for Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bars on Taste of Home.

Ingredients:

  • 1 7 oz box Walkers Shortbread Highlanders (9 cookies)
  • 5 Walkers Stem Ginger Shortbread Cookies (~1/2 box)
  • 1 cup sugar, divided
  • 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 8 oz packages reduced-fat cream cheese
  • 1 8 oz package regular cream cheese
  • 1 15 oz can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
  • 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon each of ground ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon and cardamom
  • 1/8 teaspoon allspice
  • 3/4 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 cup Nutella, warmed

Continue reading Nutella Swirled Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Mini Pumpkin Blossom Honey Cakes

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, began last night at sundown. Honey plays a significant role in Rosh Hashanah celebrations, signifying hopes for a sweet new year.  Apples or challah dipped in honey is popular, as is honey cake. Because of the time of year, honey cake typically includes flavors associated with fall. My mom had given me a Pumpkin Blossom Honey recently and I thought this would be the perfect way to use it.

I adapted my recipe from one found on Epicurious and gave it my own pumpkin-y spin. Pumpkin Blossom Honey is created by bees that solely pollinate pumpkins and pumpkin blossoms. It has a darker amber color and has a really nice spice flavor at the end.  I thought it would work great with some traditional fall spices thrown in!

Ingredients:

Cake:

  • 2 1/2 cups cake flour (or all purpose flour)
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil (I used sunflower oil)
  • 1 cup Pumpkin Blossom honey
  • 8 oz lukewarm pumpkin coffee (I used Green Mountain’s)
  • The zest of one orange

Chocolate glaze:

  • 1/2 cup shaken canned unsweetened coconut milk (not light)
  • 2 teaspoons light corn syrup
  • 4 ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped
  • Flaky sea salt for garnish, optional

Continue reading Mini Pumpkin Blossom Honey Cakes

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Peach Pie

August is National Peach month! My boyfriend is a big fan of peaches so I’ve been buying them a lot lately. We were going to visit friends this weekend and I wanted to bring something down so I decided to try to make a peach pie.

This recipe is from Southern Living and sounded oh so good; I had all of the ingredients on hand so I figured I could at least try! My pie experience is a bit limited but this one turned out great. I even made the pie crust from scratch which was a lot more simple than I expected.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/3 cups cold butter
  • 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon or baking spice
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 to 3/4 cup ice-cold water
  • 8 large fresh, firm, ripe peaches (about 4 lb.)
  • 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Continue reading Brown Sugar Cinnamon Peach Pie

Chicken Piccata with Spaghetti

One of my earlier posts on this blog was a chicken piccata recipe. I used to make chicken piccata probably once a week, because it was one of the only recipes I knew! But since I’ve committed to learning how to cook, I haven’t made it in probably 2 years (there are so many recipes I have to try, I rarely go back to my previous go-to recipes). So I decided to revisit the recipe with a few tweaks.

I’ve seen commercials for Land O Lakes Sauté Express products and just loved the idea. The Sauté Starters, made with butter, olive oil, and spices, are an easy way to cook up chicken or fish effortlessly. The Sauté Express Sauté Starters are specifically made for cooking on a stovetop and are portioned out in one ounce servings, enough to cook two chicken breast or fish fillets. So I thought the Garlic & Herb Sauté Express would be great in chicken piccata.

Because I use the same pan to both make the sauce and cook my chicken, my piccata is browner than most you’ll find in restaurants. So I apologize for the presentation. But trust me, the flavor makes it worth it!

 

Ingredients (serves 4):

  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
  • 1 lb chicken tenderloins (about 8 pieces)
  • 2 squares Garlic & Herb Sauté Express, divided
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
  • 1/3 cup white wine (whatever you have around the house)
  • ¾ cup chicken stock
  • The juice and zest of 1 lemon
  • 1/2 box spaghetti (or your favorite pasta)
  • 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
  • 2 tablespoons drained capers
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped

  Continue reading Chicken Piccata with Spaghetti

Peach Crisp with Maple Cream Sauce

My boyfriend really likes peaches. But, strangely enough, he’s allergic to the skin of peaches so he really only eats them in desserts. I owe him a peach cobbler at some point, but when I saw this recipe from The Pioneer Woman I thought he’d love it. (Plus, it’s a bit easier than a cobbler… baby steps.)

I didn’t have real maple syrup, so I had to use the stuff you use on pancakes. Because of that, the recipe is slightly altered from the original to account for the sweetness.

Ingredients:

  • 6 whole fresh peaches
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick) – cold
  • the juice and zest of one lemon
  • 6 tablespoons pancake syrup, divided
  • 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 1 tablespoon light corn syrup

Continue reading Peach Crisp with Maple Cream Sauce

Vegan Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

I made these Vegan Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting for a lovely vegan bride-to-be for her bridal shower this weekend. I’m not going to lie, I was going to do a test run of these, and if I didn’t like them, she was getting normal egg-filled, buttercream-topped cupcakes. But. These are good. Really really good.

So when I did my test run, I passed them around to friends and family and conveniently left the word “vegan” out of the description until after they tasted the cupcakes. My “test subjects” didn’t seem too upset with my experiment, many went for seconds!

These cupcakes use dark chocolate (versus milk chocolate), and have no eggs, butter, or milk. And they are still super fluffy and moist. The best part, most of the ingredients are probably either in your pantry or really easy to find!

Ingredients (makes 2 dozen) adapted from the Curvy Carrot:

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes:

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cream of tartar
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3/4 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder
  • 2 oz vegan dark chocolate, finely chopped
  • 3/4 cup sunflower oil
  • 1 1/4 cups vanilla almond milk
  • 3/4 cup cinnamon applesauce
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon cider vinegar

Peanut Butter Frosting:

  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup vegan margarine
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons vanilla almond milk

Continue reading Vegan Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

Dark Chocolate Brownies with Ice Cream and Grilled Fruit

Whenever I visit my friends who live on the Chesapeake, I try to bring some food. I found a recipe for a Tart with Grilled Fruit in a cookbook called Crazy About Pies that I bookmarked for my next trip to Maryland because we always end up grilling and I thought it would make a great complement to a barbecued dinner. I decided to instead make a dark chocolate brownie to go with the grilled fruit instead of the tart. (I will have a post about Crazy About Pies in the near future, there are some amazing sounding recipes in this cookbook!) The brownie recipe is adapted from an Alton Brown recipe.

Ingredients (makes 16 servings):

  • 2 pints of ice cream, preferably fruit based (I used a strawberry almond milk ice cream)

Brownies

  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 8 ounces melted butter (2 sticks) plus more for greasing
  • 1 cup dark chocolate cocoa
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Fruit

  • Fruit of your choice (about 1 cup): I used pineapple, kiwi, and watermelon
  • the juice of 2 oranges
  • 2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons butter, melted

Continue reading Dark Chocolate Brownies with Ice Cream and Grilled Fruit

Braised Baby Back Ribs and Creamy Polenta with Brussels Sprouts and Pancetta

I’ve mentioned on here many times, I really stink at getting an entire meal on the table. I can usually handle making the main dish and then I just scramble to throw a salad together and call it a meal. So when Cooking Planit told me about their app, it was like they had made it with me in mind!

The app, available for the iPhone and iPad (android coming soon) can also be accessed online. Your usage is synced up through your login, so you can browse on your computer, iPhone, and iPad seamlessly. (The app is currently on sale for $0.99 for iPhone and $1.99 for iPad)

The overall goal of Cooking Planit is to get a meal, sides included, on the table at the same time. The app includes tons of recipes that come already packaged as meals, but you can also mix and match to suit your tastes.

Once you choose your recipes/meal, you can add it to “My Cookbook” to store for future use. When you’re ready to go food shopping, just add the meal to your grocery list. The app gives you the option of planning for 2, 4, or 6 servings which I absolutely love! The grocery list can be viewed as a list by aisle (produce, dairy & eggs, canned goods, etc.), images (in case you have no idea what a leek looks like), or by recipe so you can see what you need for which recipe. Once you find and purchase your ingredients, just check them off and remove them from the list.

When you’re ready to get cooking, just bring up the recipe and click get started. The app will walk you through the meal, step by step, so that all parts of the recipe will finish at or around the same time. The app even shows you which cooking equipment, kitchen supplies, and appliances you need to make your meal, almost foolproof! It also lets you know how long it will take to make from start to finish. I liked being able to browse the recipes online at work, get the grocery list up on my phone at the supermarket, and then use my laptop at home to view the directions while I cooked. Super easy! The iPhone/iPad app also has voice control, so if you’re elbow deep in cooking, you can give voice commands like “Move On” or “Go Back.”  When parts of the recipe need a timer, automatic timers show up at the top of the screen for you. The app will also tell you when to slow down so that all parts of the recipe finish at the same time.

So I decided to try it out and give the results below! I (of course) messed with the recipe slightly so my version is below. I chose “Sunday Supper”  but changed it to Baby Back Ribs instead of Short Ribs and used my slow cooker instead of the oven.

Ingredients (serves 2):

Braised Baby Back Ribs

  • 1 carrot, large
  • 1 celery stalk, large
  • 4 sprigs fresh rosemary
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 yellow onion, small
  • 2 lbs baby back ribs
  • 2 cups beef stock, low sodium
  • 1.5 oz tomato paste
  • pepper, to taste
  • 5 black peppercorns
  • 1 dried bay leaf
  • 1.5 tablespoons flour
  • salt, to taste
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 bottle Cabernet Sauvignon

Creamy Polenta

  • 1 tablespoon green onions
  • 2 teaspoons fresh parsley
  • 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
  • 2 teaspoons butter, unsalted
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup polenta (yellow cornmeal)
  • 2 cups chicken stock, low sodium
  • salt, to taste
  • pepper, to taste

Brussels Sprouts & Pancetta

  • 3/4 lbs Brussels sprouts
  • 1 small shallot
  • 3 slices Pancetta
  • 2 teaspoons butter, unsalted
  • 2/3 cup chicken stock, low sodium
  • pepper, to taste
  • salt, to taste
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

Continue reading Braised Baby Back Ribs and Creamy Polenta with Brussels Sprouts and Pancetta

Banana Bread Muffins

When I have time on Sundays (which isn’t terribly often), I like to make a batch of muffins so I have breakfast for the week. Because I had some overripe bananas, this week I decided to make Banana Bread Muffins. I was recently sent some coupons to try Kretschmer Wheat Germ products so I thought adding some of the Honey Crunch would add some nice texture and flavor to the muffins.

So what exactly is wheat germ? Wheat germ comes from the wheat kernel, which is the part removed when refining whole grains into white flour. Wheat Germ is a great source of Vitamin E, B vitamins and folic acid. You can find it in the cereal aisle. Wheat germ can be used in recipes calling for flour or breadcrumbs so its quite versatile. I’ve also used it in smoothies.

So that you can try wheat germ for yourself, Kretschmer is giving away some coupons good for free wheat germ products to an I Can Cook That reader! More on that below.

Ingredients (makes 12 cupcake-sized muffins, of 6 large muffins):

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup Kretschmer Honey Crunch Wheat Germ
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 3 bananas)
  • 1/4 cup applesauce
  • 1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • cinnamon, to taste

Continue reading Banana Bread Muffins

Irish Soda Bread

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! One of my favorite memories growing up was my mom making Irish Soda bread during March. It is a fairly straightforward bread and is really quite easy.

The bread uses  baking soda instead of yeast as its leavening agent. Irish Soda Bread is also made with buttermilk that reacts with the baking soda to make it rise. Soda bread is a mostly savory bread, but it usually has some kind of dried fruit in it (raisins, currants, etc) that add a bit of sweetness.

My mom’s version has caraway seeds in it that add a little bit of an anise flavor to it (caraway seeds are typically found in rye bread) and I just love it. I wanted to make this with currants but couldn’t find any, so I used raisins. Feel free to substitute golden raisins or currants.

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups coarse wholemeal flour
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 4 tablespoons butter, chilled
  • 2 tablespoons caraway seeds
  • 1 cup raisins or other dried fruit
  • 2 cups buttermilk, or more if needed

Continue reading Irish Soda Bread

Chicken Fricassee With Tarragon

Cold weather always makes me crave comfort food. I tend to really want pasta (and would be perfectly happy eating it every day that drops below 40 degrees) but am always open to healthier comfort food options. BetterEats.com had a lighter recipe for Chicken Fricassee, which is a French stew with chicken, vegetables, white wine, and cream that when paired with some day old bread makes a fantastic comfort food option.

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 pounds chicken pieces (breast halves, thighs, and drumsticks) – bone-in, skin removed (I used 1 chicken breast, 1 thigh, 1 leg, and 1 drumstick)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • pepper, black – to taste
  • 2 tablespoons flour, all-purpose
  • 1 tablespoon oil, olive, extra virgin
  • 1 cup shallots (about 4 large ones)
  • 1 cup wine, dry white
  • 1 1/2 cups broth, chicken, less sodium
  • 1 medium carrot – peeled and thinly sliced (about 1/3 cup)
  • 1 pound mushrooms, I used 1/2 lb baby bellas, 1/2 lb button – wiped clean and halved or quartered
  • 4 sprigs tarragon, fresh
  • 4 teaspoons tarragon, fresh – chopped
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1/4 cup sour cream, reduced-fat
  • 2 teaspoons mustard, Dijon

Continue reading Chicken Fricassee With Tarragon

Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip, and Pecan Cookies

This year, I participated in the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap.The Cookie Swap is in its second year and helps raise money for Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, a national non-profit organization committed to funding new therapies used in the fight against pediatric cancer, which claims the lives of more children in the US than any other disease. I was assigned three food bloggers and made one dozen cookies for each of them. In return, I received three different boxes of cookies from other bloggers.

 

I wanted to make a cookie that was a spin on a traditional cookie. This Cooking Light recipe was perfect: Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip, AND Pecans!

 

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (about 5 1/2 ounces)
  • 1 cup Steel Cut oats
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup butter, softened
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
  • 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate minichips

Continue reading Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip, and Pecan Cookies

Rainbow Cookies (a.k.a Seven-Layer Cookies)

If you’ve never heard of these lovelies, you are not alone. Rainbow cookies are made of almond cake dyed fun bright colors with apricot preserves all sandwiched in between two thin layers of chocolate.

They really aren’t cookies at all, more like thinly packed cake. But whatever the heck they are, they are delicious!

 

 

I don’t really recall these cookies growing up, but my boyfriend (who is from Long Island) absolutely loves them. In fact, he was kind of taken aback when I mentioned I didn’t really know what they were. One of his friends was absolutely horrified; he basically forced me to eat one right then and there which I didn’t complain about. I love them now!

 

So I wanted to try to make these little guys… I’m not sure why. They are awfully difficult (well, more time consuming than difficult). But I was so darn proud of myself when they were done, I don’t even care about the effort I had to put in! The cookies go by a ton of names… Rainbow, Seven Layer, Neapolitan, Tricolor… but I’m pretty sure they tend to be a Christmas staple in Italian households. I found this recipe on Epicurious.

 

Ingredients:

  • 1 (12 oz) jar apricot preserves, heated and strained
  • 4 large eggs, separated
  • 1 cup sugar, divided
  • 2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 (8 oz) can almond paste
  • 2 cups all purpose flour (or cake flour)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 25 drops red food coloring
  • 25 drops green food coloring
  • 7 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped

Continue reading Rainbow Cookies (a.k.a Seven-Layer Cookies)

Mini Cranberry-Vanilla Coffee Cakes

What is it about tiny treats that make the food taste better? I love perfectly portioned food so I was excited to be sent Petite Treats: Mini Versions of Your Favorite Baked Delights. The cookbook has recipes for mini donuts, muffins, scones, pies, and bundt cakes. The recipes sound absolutely delicious but to make most of the treats, you’ll need quite a bit of hardware: mini bunt cake pans, mini donut pans, mini scone pans, mini cupcake pans, etc. There are a few recipes that use a normal muffin pan that sounded really appealing, including mini cakes, but I decided to make the mini coffee cakes so I could have breakfast all week.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
  • 1 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 cup fresh cranberries (I used frozen cranberries, thawed)
  • 2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter,at room temperature, divided
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Continue reading Mini Cranberry-Vanilla Coffee Cakes

Apple Cinnamon Donut Holes

I wanted to make another batch of the Applejack Spiked Hot Cider but *gasp* I couldn’t find any apple cider anywhere! There must have been a Thanksgiving rush, but I wanted some darn Apple Cider. But then I remembered I bought a Babycakes Cake Pop Maker (paid link) and figured I could at least make Apple Cinnamon Donut Holes as a sweet apple-y substitute. (Because I couldn’t find apple cider, I substituted apple juice)

 

Ingredients (this makes 2 1/2 – 3 dozen):

  • 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/8 teaspoon allspice
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil
  • 1 egg
  • ½ cup apple juice
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 1½ teaspoons cinnamon

Continue reading Apple Cinnamon Donut Holes

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